Of Love and Awkwardness
by Fortune'sFiction
Summary: Fluff. Pure fluff sure to rot your brain with it's adorableness. One is loud, one is quiet, one is obnoxious, one disappears occasionally *cough*all the time*cough* what could be better? Canada and Prussia on their first date, human names used. T for latr
1. Chapter 1

A/N Thing: So, this was actually my first time writing a fluffy piece, I normally only write darker things. But my friend (shameless plug) Johanna-Luke is a pro at them and she convinced me that I could give it a try. She is also my beautiful and gorgeous Beta! I hope you enjoy….

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Matthew walked down the street, flowers in sweaty palms. It had taken him a half hour to get the shop-keep to notice him enough to ask for the dozen red roses, and then it was another twenty minutes for them to remember he was there and give him the flowers. After another five minutes of trying to pay her Matthew finally gave up and left the money on the counter. He knew that had he been his brother, he wouldn't have bothered with the money, simply would have left with the flower.

Then again, if he were his brother... He would have been noticed the minute he walked in the door... Matthew sighed, yet another reason everyone like Alfred more than him...

_Well everyone other than Gilbert I suppose..._ A small blush crossed his cheeks as he thought about what he was going to go do. Matthew smiled a small, adorable smile, Gilbert doesn't even LIKE Alfred. I suppose they're both just too loud... Too much like each other to get along...

Matthew could recall Gilbert talking long, and rather loud, about how annoying Alfred could be. Matthew had laughed, chuckling at how very ironic that was coming out of the Prussian's mouth. Surprisingly, Gilbert had not ignored him... Instead, he looked at him and asked, "what's so funny maple-boy?"

Gilbert's brother, Ludwig, who was younger, yet took care of the home and his elder brother far more efficiently than Gilbert ever could, had interjected once he saw Matthew's shocked and terrified face. He had been so afraid Gilbert was going to smack him. "The fact that you think Alfred's annoying. You're even louder and more obnoxious than he is. It's called irony."

Gilbert looked in shock to Matthew, who couldn't help but smile, it still made him laugh. And surprisingly, Gilbert found it funny too. He smiled broadly and began laughing that strange chuckle of his, causing Matthew to join in, and even Ludwig cracked a smile. They had all been staying in the conference room after a world meeting; the German brothers, having hosted it, were cleaning up, and Matthew was waiting for his brother to get smacked by Arthur as he always did for bothering him so that they could go home.

To this day, Matthew still couldn't help but smile at the memory, it was probably the moment he had begun to like the loud man. He had not only noticed him, when he was most often ignored by anyone outside of his family, but he had even laughed at what he found funny...

Matthew took a deep breath and tried to loosen his death grip on the flowers in his hands. _Come on Mattie. You can do this. It's just Gilbert for maple's sake! He couldn't be awkward if he tried! He's always so confident... And loud... And people hear him... And pay attention to him... And he's always the center of attention... Oh Maple. This isn't going to work..._

"West!" Gilbert ran frantically downstairs. "WEST!" He bolted into the kitchen and bowled over Feliciano, knocking him to the ground and nearly crushing the roses he held.

"Ve! Gilbert!"

Gilbert turned bright red as he looked down to see Feliciano's shocked face. "Sorry Feli, I uh... Wasn't watching where I was going..."

"Ve! It's alright Gilbert! Ludwig's a lot heavier than you!"

Gilbert looked down at Feliciano in confusion, trying to figure out why Ludwig would be laying on Feliciano... He opened his mouth to ask as much when he was interrupted by an awkward coughing sound. He looked up to see a red faced Ludwig standing in the doorway. "Bruder! There you are!" He hauled himself up and ran to Ludwig, who shook him off in favor of helping Feli to his feet.

"Vas is it bruder?"

"Okay so. Um... I can't find... That one thing... You know. The thing!"

The look that Ludwig gave his brother was priceless. It spoke VOLUMES: Why are you asking me? What do you mean by a _thing_? And of course: why the hell are you my brother? You are stupid.

"The _thing_! That you're supposed to give your... um..." Gilbert's face turned bright red as he looked down at his feet, unconsciously shuffling them, embarrassed about saying the word.

"Ve! Your date!" Feliciano asked happily, already recovered from his tumble and now leaning into Ludwig's chest as he put an arm around the smaller man.

Still not looking up, Gilbert nodded. "Yeah. That one..."

Surprisingly to Gilbert, Ludwig chuckled and delicately took one of the roses from Feli's hands. He tenderly stuck it into Gilbert's lapel, straightening his suit out in the process. "It's called a boutonniere. And where is your tie?"

Gilbert turned his head to the stairs just as they heard a rather disgruntled chirping sound. "I uh... told Gilbird to find one..."

And lo and behold, bouncing down the stairs, tumbling head over wings, was the little yellow bird, a tie in his beak, and wrapped around his tiny frame. When he hit the bottom, he looked up at Gilbert and glared, chirping angrily. It was obvious to see what he was so thoroughly annoyed with. The tie, the expensive red silk one that matched his eyes so well, was too heavy for him to fly with. Thus causing him to fall down the stairs...

"Gilbird! Little buddy! Are you okay?" As Gilbert worried, Feli picked him up and unlooped the tie from the tangle, he stroked the little guy as he gave the tie to Ludwig, who turned then to his brother. Ludwig tied the tie with care and made sure it was straight, before handing the other rose to Gilbert.

"Another boutonniere. This, is the one for Matthew."

Gilbert took it from his hand and stared at it. "What do I do with it? Give it to him?"

Ludwig stared at him, his face blank, before Feliciano saved him, "Ve! You have to pin it to his button hole! Just like Ludwig did for you! Ve, if you're on a date, it's the romantic thing to do! Ludwig ALWAYS does it for me when we go out on dates!"

Gilbert smirked and look at his little brother, who was as red as his best friend Antonio's tomatoes. "Really West? Romantic are you?"

Before Ludwig could respond, Feli again jumped in. "Si! Ludwig loves to bring me flowers... And he always tells me how handsome I am! Ve, even though he always blushes when he says it. He's so cute!"

All Gilbert could do was laugh.

"Ver dammt! Aren't you late or something!" Ludwig shouted.

Gilbert snickered and said "How can I be late? Matthew is coming here so we can leave together."

Ludwig scowled, before grabbing Gilbird gently from Feli's hands and plopping him on his brother's head. He laid a hand on Feli's waist and turned him, determined to leave Gilbert downstairs. Feli however, had one more piece of advice before they left. "Don't forget! Roses are a sign of true love!"

Ludwig pulled the giggling Feli upstairs, he knew, though he doubted anyone else did, that Feliciano wasn't as oblivious as he appeared. Granted most of the time he truly had no idea what was going on, that last comment was definitely thrown out for Gilbert's benefit only. Ludwig had overheard the conversation he and Francis had had earlier, Feliciano knew very well what Francis had told his nervous son to bring.

Gilbert paled and looked down at the rose in his hand. True love? He thought with a pang of panic. That was a bit much for a first... date... Just then, the bell rang and Gilbert shrieked, sending himself and Gilbird flying into the air. Gilbird chirped at him as he flew around his head. _Gilbert meanwhile, was more concerned with calming his now racing heart down. It's just the verdammte door! Calm down Gil! You're awesome! You've GOT this! There's NO way anything could go wrong! Ha! If West can pull off a date, YOU can! You're WAY more awesome than he is! I mean... Just because Feli is all bubbly, and never stops talking so there's never an awkward silence... I mean, Matthew talks plenty right?_

_ ...Gott verdammt. I'm screwed._

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Obligatory A/N: Squee! Thank you for reading lovely ladies and gents! I hope it wasn't too terrible for a first try. R&R begged for, I'm a little unsure about how it turned out…

Keep a watch for more to come! ;)


	2. Chapter 2

Matthew paced nervously in front of the door... This was a bad idea. A really, really, REALLY bad idea. Why did he ever let Feliciano talk him into this? When he had come up to him and said that he had overheard Francis talking to Arthur about how Matthew liked Gilbert, and since he already knew-from when Gilbert had told Ludwig who had complained after a meeting to Kiku, who had told Heracles, who had been talking in his sleep when Feliciano went over to his house to play with his cats about it all-that Gilbert liked Matthew too, his head had been spinning so much, how could he have had the consciousness to say no?

Feliciano had assured him it would all go well. He had even told his Papa all about it already for him. Although, As Matthew thought about it... Telling his Papa might not have actually been in his best interest... Matthew just KNEW he was going to tell his dad, and they were going to be LIVID. They were honestly far too overprotective of him... And really, it was just _Gilbert_ for maple's sake! ...Then again.. Maybe they had reason to be worried...

Matthew breathed in deeply before raising his hand and pressing in the doorbell, nearly jumping as he heard the echo reverberate through the door. He heard a rapid patter as someone ran to the door. The doorknob twisted violently and then slowed, whoever was behind it slowly opened the door and Matthew looked up in fear. Though he was unsure as to what he was more afraid of, facing Gilbert, or being stared down by his younger, and scarier, brother.

As it turned out, it was the former, hand still on the door, face pale and ever so slightly tinted with red, Gilbert stood there, staring at him. The look on his face, one of slight panic and worry, was so out of place, Matthew smiled and and tilted his head to his shoulder, laughing slightly. Gilbert blushed red and dropped his eyes to the floor, smiling gently. "Um, hey."

Matthew continued to grin, "Hey yourself." It was strange, he was always so shy, introverted and unsure of himself, and Gilbert, he was always so confident and loud, showing off to anyone who would pay him attention. But suddenly, when Matthew looked into his red eyes, matching his cheeks in hue, he felt... assured. He was suddenly not afraid, as if he had done this a thousand times.

Like he wanted to take Gilbert by the hand and pull him close, wrap his arms around him, cradle his head to his shoulder and never let another sorrow touch his heart. He wanted to brush the hair away from his face and gently kiss him on the forehead, leaning forward to touch their faces together sweetly. He wanted to murmur, "Je t'aime mon cher, de tout mon coeur." _I love you my dear, with all my heart._

Every time he had heard his Papa use those words, he had never imagined having the courage to say them, they were so... intimate. And besides, the only person Papa ever used them on anymore was his Dad, and Arthur always scowled as his face turned red and smacked Francis on the arm. Unless of course, he thought they were alone, in which case Arthur would blush-that never changed-and he would wrap his arms around Francis's neck and murmur "I love you too." Though whenever Arthur said it, he always ended with "you frog."

He stuck mainly to English nowadays, after hanging out for so long with Alfred, it tended to grow on you. And French, it had always felt like he was trying to... court someone when he used it. He had never wanted to... Until now. Looking at Gilbert, he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs, to laugh without ending, to flirt shamelessly, and maybe, just maybe, kiss him passionately on the lips.

Just thinking about it made him blush bright red, but he couldn't have wiped the smile off his lips if he wanted to.

Gilbert sprinted to the door, he grabbed the knob quickly before panicking at his appearance and slowing down. _Calm yourself Gil, you're awesome, no need to rush... _He very calmly opened the door and prepared a smile to greet Matthew with. But as the door opened far enough for him to view his date, he was overcome with a bout of sudden shyness, his gaze inevitably falling to his feet. _Gott verdammt, I can't even look at him without feeling all... Weird._ Gilbert could feel the heat creeping over his cheeks and he looked back at Matthew to distract him.

He had the cutest smile on his face, it lit his entire face up and made Gilbert's heart leap. When had Matthew ever gotten so cute? And when had he ever thought that about someone? Why was he so nervous? What made Matthew so... different?

His heart in his throat, Gilbert struggled to say something intelligent, something witty, something to make him laugh. "Um, hey." _Well. That went well._ _Congratulations Gil, you are now cliche. _

Surprisingly however, Gilbert couldn't regret his awkward greeting. Not when it made Matthew smile like that. He would dance in the middle of world conference meeting in nothing but a tutu and tap shoes if it meant Gilbert could see Matthew smile like that. Smile _for_ him. _Because_ of him. Hell, he would do it stone cold sober if there was a chance of seeing that delight radiating from him.

Gilbert froze as he retraced his thoughts. When had _THAT _happened? Since when did he care that much? And since when did Matthew make him feel so... happy?

In accordance with every other awkward situation he had been in, Gilbert attempted to dissolve the tension by opening his mouth and letting the first things that came into his mind fall out of it.

"You look beautiful." _Scheiße. _Hearing the words fall traitorously from his lips, Gilbert's eyes widened, matching Matthew's. A small part of his mind filled his head with treacherous thoughts. Scanning without realizing what he was doing, he looked Matthew over. The stone grey suit he wore contrasted the purple tie brilliantly and brought out the violet in his eyes, making him look altogether handsome, though he was still adorable, looking at him with wide eyes.

_Scheiße that's right. Um. What to say? What do I say? RIGHT! The thing! _Trying to backtrack and pretend he was still totally in control, he held forward the soft, white flower. "So uh... I um. Here. This is for you." Gilbert winced slightly, his linguistic skills were certainly failing him today.

He held the flower as the quiet words filtered back into his mind... _"Ve! You have to pin it to his button hole! Just like Ludwig did for you! Ve, if you're on a date, it's the romantic thing to do!"_ _Right. Button hole. Flower. I can totally do this. _

"Um, here. Let me." He stepped forward and lightly rested a hand on Matthew's lapel, the hand holding the rose shaking ever so slightly. Standing so close, he could feel Matthew's breath ghosting over his skin, knowing he was looking at him, watching every expression cross his face. He could smell a slight air of pine and maple syrup surrounding the other man, reminding him of wide open skies and forests untouched by man for hundreds of years. It made him think of the years when the whole earth was like that, and the countries that existed, all were so strong and believed themselves invincible. The collapse of any but their enemies, nothing but a fairytale.

And of course. That damnable rose that Ludwig had _insisted_ he give to Matthew. _"Don't forget! Roses are a sign of true love!" _Feli and his talk of true love. He hoped Matthew had no idea about the implication.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and secured the flower, removing his hands. Suddenly, another shot out and grabbed his hand in their own. Matthew held his hand in his and looked him in the eye, in his other hand, he held up the roses he had brought with him.

Gilbert's eyes were inexorably drawn to them, then again... Maybe Mattie knew. "For you." Matthew nearly whispered, his voice reaching Gilbert's ears perfectly in the cool evening air. Gilbert slowly drew them from his hand and held them to his chest. He couldn't explain it, they were just flowers, just something that you gave on a date. But he suddenly wasn't nervous anymore.

Gilbert was loud. Gilbert was obnoxious. Gilbert was annoying. Gilbert was always _there._ But looking at the flowers in his hand, he suddenly felt as though nobody had truly seen him in years, not really seen _him._ And nobody, had _ever_ looked at him the way Matthew was looking at him now.

Gilbert felt as though he could fly to the moon and back, maybe a trip around the world, if Matthew would keep that gaze, that loving gaze, trained on him. He could do whatever he wanted. Whatever _Matthew_ wanted.

"Thank you," he murmured, raising their still clutched hands to kiss the back of Matthew's hand. He gave it a squeeze, "let me grab a vase or something. Come on in, I still have to grab the basket too."

He turned and led Matthew into the house before reluctantly letting go of his palm, off in search of a vase. Speaking of which... Did they even own one?

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A/N Weeeeeeelllll. I suppose there are more PruCan fans out there than I had thought! Thank you for the lovely reviews! Keep them coming! They make me want to write…. I swear, I see one, I feel the need to write more! So give me your R&R and I'll give you more chapters!


	3. Chapter 3

Matthew looked around the house, he could tell that Ludwig kept a tight ship when it came to cleanliness, everything was in its place and out of the way. The furniture was clean and sleek, and he could even tell there was a definitive Italian influence in the coordination and color schemes, everything feeling open and warm.  
>Curious about the rest of the house, he called out to Gilbert that he was going to the bathroom, after receiving acknowledgement, he quickly headed up the stairs and began opening doors. The first door he found turned out to indeed be the bathroom, so he turned and continued down the hall, he was about to open the next door he found when he heard distinct giggling coming from inside. One high and light, the other low and closer to a chuckle than anything else. He decided he wasn't <em>that<em> curious and stepped away.  
>He shook his head clear of images and listened in on the next door, though he knew nobody else should be home, upon hearing silence, he quietly opened the door.<p>

Once inside, he knew immediately that he had found Gilbert's room. The first indication was the bed; the dark, Prussian blue sheets were wrinkled and thrown about on the surface of the mattress, he doubted Gilbert had ever willingly made up his bed in his life. Thinking of his own neat bed back home, he could only smile. Especially when he saw two pillows at the head of the bed. One had a distinct indent where Gilbert's head would lie, and was dragged at a random angle and sitting in the middle of the bed. Somehow, Matthew could guess that Gilbert was not the easiest person to rouse out of bed.

The other pillow looked as though it hadn't moved since the day it had been laid down. The indent that lay there was small, about the size of his fist. Matthew grinned, thinking of the deliberate care Gilbert took in his little bird.

Clothes were thrown about randomly, obviously thrown off whenever the man changed. Though hanging in his closet, Matthew could see evidence of suits that were hung up with care. Matthew knew that Gilbert was careless in a lot of things, but when it came to his own things, he had a certain... system, in keeping it orderly.

"You know, it's not as bad as it looks. I know where everything is." Matthew jumped, a guilty blush spreading across his cheeks.

He turned to face Gilbert, an apology ready on his lips but stopped when he saw the small teasing smile on his face. He held the flowers in his hand, contained now in a dark vase with red scrolling on the sides. A beautiful piece of pottery that Gilbert no doubt hadn't seen since the day it had been bought and had entirely forgotten they owned, knowing him as he did, Matthew didn't bother to ask if he even remembered where he had gotten it.

Gilbert took a few steps into the room and placed the flowers on top of his dresser, moving a few pictures and things to make room. Curiosity growing stronger than the politeness drilled into him as a child-lessons his brother had forgotten easily enough-Matthew leaned closer, peering over Gil's shoulder to look at the pictures.

One was a recent picture of his brother and him, Gilbert had his arm around Ludwig's neck and a broad grin stretched across his face, whereas Ludwig looked like he didn't know if he wanted to strangle the man or attack whoever had the camera. It obviously had been a surprise photo and not one of Ludwig's better moods. The next picture was again of the brothers, though they were younger and more serious, both in uniform and looking ready to march off to battle. Gilbert however, still had that trademark smirk on his face. Seeing the plethora of pictures containing his brother and him, Matthew commented with a smile, "you must really love your brother."

He looked to his left, where Gilbert stood with a small, old, faded picture in his hands. The smile on his face was soft, sad, nostalgic, and maybe just a little painful. "Gilbert?"

When he didn't answer, staring instead at the picture in his hands, Matthew laid a hand on his arm, "Gilbert?" he asked, his soft voice gentle and caring. He looked down at the picture in Gilbert's hands. It was a beautiful picture, one of a much younger Gilbert holding a small, happy blonde boy in his arms. Both boys were dressed in fine clothing, preparing it seemed, to go to a party or other high quality event. It was the first time Matthew had seen an expression like that on either of their faces. It was happiness, innocent happiness.

Both radiated joy like they had never seen a day of pain in their lives, and it was obvious looking at the way the young boy held the other one, they both loved each other very much. For all the arguing and fighting they did, there was no one that could come between these two when push came to shove.

_If only Alfred and I could be the same, _Matthew thought with a hint of sorrow, though he knew deep down that Alfred would always defend him to the end if he had to, even when Matthew wasn't necessarily in trouble. Yet another reason why he hadn't told him that he was going out on a date with Gilbert.

As he stood there, thinking about his own brother, Gilbert snapped out of his thoughts, "Hey! Mattie! Come on! Let's go uh, grab that basket and get out of here!" Without a chance to answer, Gilbert had grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind them.

They raced down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, Gilbert had yet to let go of his hand and it was beginning to make Matthew blush, though he figured that Gilbert had probably forgotten and had no idea what effect he was having on the shy boy. Matthew however, had no intention of letting go, no matter how flustered he got, or how red his face became.

Matthew looked onto the counter and saw a sturdy basket sitting with a block and white cloth hanging out. Correctly presuming this to be the basket that Gilbert had been speaking of, he reached out and grabbed it, hanging it over the crook of his elbow.

He gave Gilbert's hand a squeeze and asked, "ready to go?"

The Prussian grinned at him, that same maniac grin that made most people dread whatever he was about to do next, was beginning to make Matthew's heart pound, but with excitement, not trepidation. "Yeah! Let's go!" Gilbert opened the door and pulled Matthew out, as he turned to lock the door, Matthew saw him look at their hands, still intertwined. Gilbert slowly brought their hands to his lips, giving Mathew a light kiss on his hand before letting go and twisting the key in the lock.

Matthew doubted he had ever blushed as much as he had tonight, and the date had barely even begun!

Gilbert stood in the center of his kitchen, hands placed dramatically on his hips, as he had been for the past few minutes... _If I were a vase... Where would Ludwig put me so that I couldn't break me? Or... So that Gilbert couldn't break me... Or I couldn't break the vase... Or... Whatever! Where the hell would he put a vase?_ Gilbert heard Matthew call to him from the living room, something about going to the bathroom, he called back "ja, ja, upstairs," and turned back to the search at hand.

He began opening cupboards and scattering the contents around, searching fruitlessly for a vase. _Vase... Vase... Vase... Vaze... Phase... Face... Mace... Maize... Maize is corn... Corn... Corn... Corn? Why the hell am I thinking about corn?_Gilbert shook his head clear of the strange train of thoughts he had taken on and began walking upstairs. _If anyone knows where we have a vase it'll be Ludwig... Or Feliciano. Meh, same difference_

Gilbert stood outside of the door to Ludwig and Feliciano's room, about to barge in when he heard distinct giggling emerge. _Hmmm, wonder what West is giggling about? Well if Feli's in there... IT COULD ONLY BE ONE THING!_ Expecting to catch his brother in a compromising position, Gilbert flung open the door and ran into the room shouting "Ha!"

To his dismay, he found the two men sitting on Ludwig's bed, leaning against the headboard, watching something he couldn't see on the TV. Both were completely dressed, and the only indication that they were even more than just friends was the comfortable arm that Ludwig had around Feliciano's waist. His face fell and the two stared at him in slight confusion and mild irritation on Ludwig's part. But before his brother could ask a question, Gilbert made the connection.

"Hey bruder! You know you're not supposed to laugh when you watch porn with your boyfriend right?" He asked with a broad grin stretched across his face, confident that he had figured out their dirty secret.

Ludwig's face, remarkably seemed to grow even more angry and stern, while Feli's took on a light blush. "We are not watching porn _bruder_."

"Oh? Then just what are you watching? Can I see?" Gilbert asked with a smirk, beginning to edge towards the bed.

"Nein!" Ludwig fairly shouted, quickly clicking the remote and turning the screen black. "It is none of your business what we watch! Get out bruder!"

Gilbert simply laughed his trademark cackle and turned to leave, stopping abruptly and asking "Hey West, do we have a vase anywhere?"

Reeling slightly from the dramatic turn of emotions, Ludwig nodded, "ja, there is a dark one with red accents in the library."

Gilbert stared at his brother with a blank expression. "...We have a library?"

It was Ludwig's turn to give Gilbert a flat expression. "Ja. It's where I put all the things I don't want you to find, or break, or lose, or ever see..."

Gilbert chose to ignore these comments, curious instead to ask, "well where is it!"

"Behind that one door. The one you haven't opened since the day we got the house and you thought it was haunted."

Desperate to defend himself, Gilbert shouted, "IT TRIED TO EAT GILBIRD!" He slammed the door behind him and dashed into the hallway, heading towards the door he had nearly lost Gilbird to so long ago. But he was older now, stronger. And he wasn't afraid of some stupid door and the scary room behind it that tried to eat his bird and almost made him cry even though he totally didn't because he's way more awesome than that. Totally.

Taking a deep breath, Gilbert turned the knob and slowly creaked open the door, peering in cautiously. Ahead of him, his little yellow buddy flew straight in, showing him that it was all okay and nothing could hurt him here. He followed the little bird and looked around; the room, obviously only ever used by Ludwig, was clean and neat, everything was in its place and not a speck of dust was to be seen. And sitting there, behind the desk, was a dark vase with red accent. Gilbert walked forward to grab it, only to pause and look at the things on Ludwig's desk, curiosity overtaking him. It was mostly bare, empty to clear room for working, but his brother had made space for a few personal effects.

On the sides and away from the main working space, set up next to the piles of paperwork that Ludwig had yet to get to, were picture frames. One was a large framed piece with three different pictures set behind the black matte. In the bottom left was a picture of their vati when he was young, his hair long as he had worn it his entire life. He was looking off into the distance, which Gilbert supposed was the only reason there wasn't a scowl written on the serious face, as there was a majority of the time. Next to it was a small snapshot of himself, dressed in his full uniform and for once, no smirk. He picked up the frame, noticing in shock how alike he looked to Ludwig when he wasn't smiling. _Wonder if West looks like me when he smiles..._

The last picture in the frame was larger than the other two, a picture of when he was young, standing and grinning next to his childhood best friend, Elizaveta, whom he had thought for the longest time was a boy. He had only realized his mistake when they hit puberty and all of sudden _he_ started to look a lot more like a _she_ and _she_ started to seem... attractive. He blushed lightly at the memory, remembering how awkward he had become around her when she had started wearing dresses and skirts that showed off her developing figure.

As he set the frame back down, he looked over to see the other two pictures set up. One was an old picture he had seen a hundred times. It was their vati, himself, and Ludwig on the first-and last-hunting trip they had ever gone on. Their vati was a very good hunter, Ludwig was a very good-a very quiet-companion. Gilbert was... not.

When they got home, he had sent him to bed without supper and told him that if he heard so much as a peep out of him, he wouldn't eat tomorrow either. When he had opened his mouth to protest, his vati had raised a finger in the air and gave him a look, indicating he wasn't joking. "Not a _peep_ Gilbert." When Gilbird, resting on his head, had chirped, his eyes had gone wide and he grabbed the little chick's beak, and run to his room, fearing his vati's wrath. As he had run off, he heard him say "I swear, even _Augustus Vargas_ must have heard him..." Gilbert chuckled, his poor vati hadn't even been able to bring home a rabbit that day.

The last picture made Gilbert laugh the most. He couldn't help but pick it up and grin at the image. He remembered that day, it had been one of the many times that Kiku had come to visit, Ludwig he and Feliciano were supposed to be going out to eat and discuss business, or at least Ludwig and Kiku were. And as usual, Feliciano was nowhere to be seen, even though they had told him the meeting was to be an hour earlier than reality, so when he arrived late, he would actually be on time.

Kiku and Ludwig had just agreed to simply pick Feli up from his house when there was a knock at the door. Ludwig, who had locked it, strolled over to open it. As the door swung open, Feliciano had burst through, not even wearing proper clothes and immediately launched himself on Luddi's neck.

Ludwig and Feli had probably only been dating for a few days and his poor brother was still very shy, making him blush bright red, especially when he heard Kiku's camera click. The ensuing fight had brought Gilbert to the ground, practically rolling in laughter as he watched his brother, the big scary German brute, be thwarted by the small tiny Asian man, who was barely moving a muscle as he dodged Ludwig's grabs for the device. After Ludwig admitted defeat and Feli was dressed in some of the clothes he had been leaving around their house, they had left and with a bright red face, Ludwig pulled out a promise from Kiku, he wasn't allowed to show it to anyone and (the cause of the blushing) Ludwig would be given a copy.

Thinking about the possibilities of the photo, Gilbert flipped it over to remove the backing and slip out the picture, to his surprise there was a note. _Take this photo and the bird suffers the consequences._ Gilbert gulped in fear. Slowly he raised his eyes and found Gilbird, making sure he was still here. Slowly he set the picture back down and grabbed the vase from where it sat, hurrying out of the room, his bird flapping behind him. When it came to his best buddy's health, he took no chances.

He shut the door behind him and walked down the back downstairs to retrieve the flowers. Once he had filled the vase with water and set the flowers in it, he went to put it up in his room, passing through the living room as he did so. To his surprise, Matthew wasn't there, remembering some vague comment about the bathroom, he shrugged and headed upstairs, only to find that the bathroom was empty. Not one to panic (okay maybe a little) he nearly dropped the vase when his eyes skimmed over his bedroom door, which was cracked open.

He walked over and peered inside, annoyed at the intrusion. As he looked in, he was surprised to see Matthew staring at his bed. He cringed slightly, knowing he hadn't made it up, as he hadn't since his vati was around. As Matthew's eyes scanned over to his closet, he leaned against the door frame and smirked a little, obviously the young man had no idea Gilbert had found him, _yeah right, in the bathroom my ass._ "You know, it's not as bad as it looks. I know where everything is." He smirked as he saw Matthew jump, a guilty blush beginning to spread along his cheeks.

Gilbert took a few steps into the room and placed the flowers on top of his dresser, moving a few pictures and things to make room. As he did so, he felt Matthew lean over his shoulder to look at the pictures, the proximity made his heart pound and his cheeks flush red. Quickly he adverted his eyes to stare at the pictures, trying to ignore the ache in his limbs to turn slightly and grab the boy in an embrace.

One was a rather recent picture of his brother and him, Italy had been taking pictures of Ludwig in the outfit he had picked out for him, curious to see how it looked, and Gilbert couldn't resist photo-bombing it, throwing his arm around Ludwig's neck. Ludwig had promptly, and literally, kicked Gilbert in the butt and sent him sprawling. Gilbert had laughed it off and stolen Feli's camera, developing the picture before Ludwig could get rid of it. The next picture was again of him and Ludwig, the first picture they had had in their uniforms before they had gone to fight, and Gilbert as usual wasn't taking things seriously. He stared at the memories of the two of them, nearly forgetting Matthew until he said, "you must really love your brother."

Gilbert's stomach slammed into his throat as he remembered who was also staring at the pictures. _Scheiße._ He thought. _What does he think? Gah, since when do I care what someone thinks of my room! _A little voice in his head answered _since you fell in love._ Gilbert panicked mentally, _no I didn't! I'm not in love!_ Again he tried to ignore the thoughts bouncing around his head and he looked around for something to distract him, his eyes landing on his favorite picture. He picked it up and held it in his hands, without realizing it, he calmed and smiled slightly.

The picture was old. From back when he and Ludwig were much younger. He and Ludwig were dressed to attend a ceremony with their vati and Gilbert had swung Ludwig around in the air until he had screamed in happiness.

Gilbert lost himself in his reverie, his mind falling back on the years. _Me and Luddi, we go way back. We mostly had to raise ourselves. Sure Vati was there when we were real young, but he died when we were still young, I don't think bruder even really remembers him that well... But we had to look after each other. I had to look after _him_._

_I know I'm not the best big brother that's ever lived, but I did what I had to. I went through so many different jobs, just trying to make sure he was fed and all. Luckily by the time Vati died, he was out of diapers and stuff, but he was still just a kid. Ludwig doesn't remember most of what we went through but I do, and I'm glad he doesn't. We went through hell, and there were so many times... So many times I didn't think he was going to make it... He's the only family I've really ever had... For all the arguing and fighting we do, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him..._

He felt a hand land softly on his arm and he snapped out of his thoughts, "Hey! Mattie! Come on! Let's go uh, grab that basket and get out of here!" To get him out of the room faster, Gilbert grabbed Matthew's hand and dashed out the door, shutting it firmly behind him.

He ran down the stairs with Matthew in tow, and into the kitchen. As he walked in the kitchen, he went to grab the basket only to realize he was still holding the picture in his hand, and the other was still wrapped in Matthew's, where he had already decided it was going to stay as long as Matthew let him. As he debated what to do with the picture, Matthew reached out and grabbed the basket for him. He smiled and placed the picture down on the counter as he turned to Matthew and heard him ask, "Ready to go?"

Gilbert couldn't help but give a broad grin, stretching it across his face, "Yeah! Let's go!" He guided them out the door and began to turn to lock it when their twined hands grew awkward to work with. He hadn't wanted to let go, but West would surely have his head if he didn't lock up. So with a pounding heart, expecting at any minute to have the hand snatched away, he brought it to his mouth, giving the knuckles a brief dusting with his lips, before letting go and twisting the key in the lock.

He couldn't believe that Matthew was letting him get away with touching him so much. He feared he might have begun to be addicted to it, the light kisses, holding hands... He wanted nothing more than to have a hold on Matthew constantly, hold his hand, link arms, wrap an arm around his waist, and claim the boy as his own. And for once, to his surprise, there was no sexual innuendo hidden in his words. He wanted to call Matthew his own, and he wanted Matthew to claim him as well.

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A/N: CHAPTER 3! Anybody excited as I am for the date? Sappy and full of fluffy love as it doubtless might be! R/R if you pleases, and sorry about the long wait…. School invaded my life as well as that of my beta, we're working as fast as we can!

Btw, Augustus Vargas is Grandpa Rome!

*looks at word count* O.o Omg, sorry for this chapter being so long…


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